By Heinz de Boer
British tourist Julia Norgate came to South Africa with dreams of marrying her local boyfriend and building a life on KZN's South Coast. Instead she was detained by a Home Affairs official and forced to endure the horrors of a Durban police cell.
The Department of Home Affairs has since apologised to Norgate for the incident, which was only resolved when the British Consulate intervened on Norgate's behalf. Home Affairs spokesperson Monde Maqula labelled the incident as "unfortunate".
He said while the department could not be proud of such an incident, officials could not allow people to live in the country illegally.
"We will thoroughly investigate the matter."
Petite 20-year-old Norgate is considering legal action against the Department of Home Affairs after her two-day ordeal last week. She was taken to prison after trying to extend her visitor's visa at the Home Affairs offices in Durban's Umgeni Road. Although released the next day, Norgate endured a night in the "disgusting" cells without food or water, witnessed other immigrants being assaulted and was not read her rights as a prisoner.
Norgate said although she had not given up on South Africa, the incident has tarnished her perspective of the justice system and delayed her plans for marriage later this year. The drama began when Norgate received a phone call from Home Affairs officials who demanded that she present herself at the Umgeni Road offices last Thursday. She and her unsuspecting South African boyfriend Brett Wundram, were expecting to pay a fine as her visa had expired at the end of December.
Norgate went to the Home Affairs offices under the impression that she would have to pay a fine and then renew her documentation. Instead they were flabbergasted when an "aggressive" official informed her she would immediately be detained and deported. This was despite her explanation that her passport and life partner permit application was with a private immigration company who were attempting to secure an extension to her visa.
Norgate said she saw a Chinese national also being detained at the offices. "He told them he was married to a South African woman, but they detained and manhandled him.
"The official just said we would be detained. We sat there for hours trying to reason with him but he just became more aggressive when an immigration officer, Elaine Kinsey, intervened on my behalf.
"I was terrified, especially as I thought I would just have to pay a fine. It blew my mind. The Chinese man was manhandled out of the office by two immigration officials and I was scared things would get worse if I kicked up a fuss. I was not even allowed to go to the toilet alone as they thought I might escape," Norgate said.
Numerous phone calls to consular officials and police management could not prevent her from being locked in a cell with six other women at Durban Central Police Station the same night.
"The blankets we were supposed to sleep on were rancid, there was no toilet paper and for breakfast we got one chunk of bread," Norgate said.
She has been given 14 days to leave the country, but says she will return to continue building her dream home with her fiance.
"I am still keen to stay here, but it's not fair that some people were allowed to pay a fine and others were locked up."
Kinsey said this type of incident was a daily occurrence but was seldom highlighted as many African immigrants were loath to report abuse or irregularities.
"South Africa can simply not continue like this - especially as we intend attracting foreign visitors and investment," Kinsey said.